The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Test automation is the use of software to configure test preconditions, controls, and reporting functions, to control the execution of tests, and to compare actual test results to predicted test results. In contrast to a single tool that performs a specific testing task, a test automation framework is a set of tools that provide automated software testing in a unified manner, thereby providing a common platform for test engineers. A test engineer can use a test automation framework to integrate function libraries, data sources, object details, and various reusable modules in a set of test files. A test automation framework enables a test engineer to define the format in which to express expectations, to create a mechanism that drives the application software which is being tested, to execute tests of the application software, and to report the results of the tests. A test engineer can use a test automation framework to create a test file set that specifies a test case for the application software to be tested, specify the test data to be input to the test case, and specify how and where to output the test results from the test case. If the test engineer revises the test case for the application software that is being tested, the test engineer may need to modify only the test file set's test case if the test files specifying how and where to output the test results from the test case and specifying the test data to be input to the test case remain unmodified.